Chronicle of Philanthropy: “Nonprofit News Outlets Face Long Waits for IRS Approval”

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that three nonprofit news operations seeking IRS recognition of section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status have been told that their applications have been bundled with similar requests by other nonprofit publishers, resulting in their applications still being pending more than year after they filed them.  The organizations are the Investigative News Network (which identifies itself as a membership group of 60 nonprofit watchdog journalist organizations), The Lens (an online nonprofit “journalism venture” in New Orleans), and SF Public Press of San Francisco (a “startup nonprofit news organization”). According to the article, an IRS spokesman said the IRS is “working them centrally to ensure consistent treatment.”

LHM